Allianz Football League Division One, round one
Galway v Armagh (Saturday, Pearse Stadium, 5.15pm, live on RTÉ2)
HAS it really only been six months? Well here we are, right back where we left off.
From the height of summer, through autumn then winter, in the face of Storms Ashley, Darragh and Éowyn - with apologies to any others whose names have been forgotten - Armagh flags continued to fly defiantly.
Penalties had brought pain, one shootout after another ripping at their collective heart, dreams never more distant than in those dark, lonely hours after agony and ecstasy tossed a coin and sent them on their way. Nobody suffered the way the Orchard had.
That’s why, when Sean Hurson sounded the long whistle on July 28 to signal the end of a claustrophobic battle with Galway, what reverberated around Croke Park was relief above all else. Perhaps Pat Spillane had already headed for the exit by then.
A party 22 years in the making, nobody was going to call last orders any time soon. Eventually, though, reality must bite.
Saturday evenings in Salthill, especially those arriving in the immediate aftermath of 100mph-plus winds whipping the west, are as stark and severe a reminder as any that those joyous July days are now done with.
Kieran McGeeney has largely managed to steer clear of the media since speaking to RTE on the concourse outside Roland Garros, moments before Kellie Harrington’s Olympic gold medal fight in Paris.
Still basking in All-Ireland winning afterglow, everything seemed so simple then. The Sam Maguire was doing the rounds of the county; still is. The Sham Maguire had a shorter shelf life after sleuth’s exposed its questionable credentials.
But the autumn months saw Jim Gavin emerge as a major threat to Armagh’s All-Ireland ambitions once more, the former Dublin manager’s Football Review Committee bringing forward a series of ‘rule enhancements’ that will revolutionise Gaelic football – and require a radical rethink for its reigning kingpins.
There was a lukewarm response from the Orchard players who took part in the series of inter-provincial games designed to showcase how a game intended to be more open, more attractive, might look.
Coming off a long-awaited success founded on water-tight zonal defence, long winter nights will have been spent working out ways to adapt to the new normal.
McGeeney has kept his counsel thus far - in public, at least. But, having previously stated that Gaelic football has never been in a better position, the Mullaghbawn man is unlikely to be overly enthused by the alterations introduced.
Irrespective of what happens in their League opener at Pearse Stadium, his post-match thoughts - assuming he doesn’t despatch one of his deputies - could dominate discussion across the weekend and beyond.
Today’s opponents, of course, were on the other side of the coin on in the big one.
Watching from the field as other hands clasped the cup was an all too familiar feeling for Padraic Joyce and his Galway players, having also lost to Kerry in the 2022 decider.
This one, though, hurt that little bit more.
With the heavyweight pair of Kerry and Dublin dropping off the pace just enough to open the door to the rest, those kind of opportunities don’t roll around too often. When they do, they must be grasped.
Joyce was still feeling the pain when he pulled up at Croke Park in October, having been asked to lead a Connacht side into the inter-provincial series. A wince could almost be detected when he was brought back to All-Ireland final day – win, and he might have walked off into the sunset.
“I’d say so, to be honest - I’d have been close enough, yeah.
“I’d say if we got over the line, that could have been, yeah. I can’t say for definite, but I’d say I’d be leaning towards that…”
A born winner, Joyce could never have gone out like that.
Following Cian O’Neill’s shock return to Kerry, he has shaken up his backroom team, adding former Cavan manager Mickey Graham and Dave Morris to the remaining John Concannon and John Divilly.
Galway managed to head off an injury crisis through the spring to stave off the threat of relegation last year – and start 2025 without some key personnel too, as Damien Comer and Rob Finnerty weren’t named in the panel to face Armagh, with Shane Walsh listed among the subs.
The Orchard may come in as All-Ireland champions, but they bucked the trend by doing so with being an established Division One force. Of the last 11 League campaigns, only two were spent in the top tier.
There is no sign of Rian O’Neill or brother Oisin in the panel heading out west, Jarly Óg Burns and Paddy Burns, Aaron McKay and Joe McElroy are notable absentees since this pair’s last meeting, with Conor Turbitt is named on the bench.
Annaghmore corner-back Tomas McCormack is handed a debut before the eyes of the nation, having only tasted Dr McKenna Cup action previously. Stefan Campbell super-sub six months ago - starts, as do Greg McCabe, Darragh McMullan and Cian McConville.
After what has felt like a lifetime without county football, a brave new world awaits; a shot at kickstarting the healing process for Galway, the party well and truly over for Armagh.
Galway: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, D O’Flaherty; D McHugh, J Daly, S Kelly; P Conroy, C McDaid; C Sweeney, F O Laoi, C Darcy; C O Curraoin, M Tierney, S O’Neill
Armagh: B Hughes; T McCormack, B McCambridge, A Forker; Connaire Mackin, T Kelly, G McCabe; B Crealey, N Grimley; O Conaty, R Grugan, D McMullen; C McConville, A Murnin, S Campbell
